Eager Beavers build quick lead and cruise

Valley Tech might have been making its first trip to the Division 3A Super Bowl, but the team looked right at home yesterday.

After scoring a touchdown on their third play from scrimmage, the Beavers used a tremendous running game and a stingy defense to beat Dean Tech, 37-8, at Westfield State’s Alumni Field.

As was the case all season, Valley Tech relied on seniors Dan Allard and Bobby Pizzerelli — both of whom ran for more than 1,000 yards this year — as well as classmate Alex Krouner to handle to workload.

All three are strong, talented, tough running backs, but with the holes opened by Juan DeLeon and his partners on the line, the Beavers could have put one of their fans in the backfield and still run all over the field.

“The line did a great job, as usual,” Allard said.

“We’ve played like that all season,” said Pizzerelli, who finished with 12 carries for 96 yards. “We just wanted to win more than they did.”

Pizzerelli’s words may seem cliché, but after watching Valley Tech’s first-half performance, one wonders how much truth they really hold.

The Beavers built a 29-0 lead by the break on a pair of rushing scores by Allard and one receiving and one rushing by Pizzerelli.

To make matters worse for Dean Tech, middle linebacker Andre Aureliano and the Valley Tech defense never allowed the Hawks to reach midfield.

“These kids played very hard,” said Valley Tech coach Rene Hanson, who coached his final game yesterday. “(The Hawks) try to run a lot, a real power offense. We thought if we were quick off the ball, we could stop it.”

The Beavers’ defense was more than quick, plugging the holes in the middle of the line and forcing the Hawks to the outside. Dean Tech did manage a couple of long runs in the second half, including quarterback Marcos Mateo’s 24-yard touchdown in the third quarter, but Valley Tech effectively shut down Mike Justino, who amassed 25 touchdowns and more than 1,500 yards in the regular season.

“We turned it on last week (against Assabet Regional) and just kept it up,” Hanson said. “I thought we dominated on each side of the ball.”

Of course, to say the Beavers dominated would be only faint praise. There was hardly a play called on offense that they couldn’t make work, the best one being the inside reverse to Allard.

They used it only twice, but it worked to perfection both times.

At the start of the second quarter, Valley Tech faced a fourth-and-1 from the Dean Tech 8. Quarterback Aaron Sweder handed the ball off to Krouner, who went right and made an inside handoff to Allard, who went off tackle left and then untouched into the end zone to put the Beavers up, 22-0, following Krouner’s conversion.

Hanson’s squad went back to the well on their next drive, and the inside reverse to Allard yielded 26 yards on second-and-7 from the Dean Tech 47, setting up a 21-yard TD run by Pizzerelli on the next play.

“That’s one of our bread-and-butter plays,” said Allard, who finished the day with 69 yards on 10 carries, scoring two TDs and two conversions. “Not many teams have been able to stop it.”

It may have been brilliant play-calling, but Valley Tech hardly needed it. The Beavers’ first score came 59 seconds into the game.

After Pizzerelli was stopped for a loss on the first play, Sweder took a QB keeper straight up the middle, cut back to the right, and carried the ball 62 yards to the Dean Tech 5, setting the stage for Allard’s scoring jaunt.

Less than four minutes later, Valley Tech made it 14-0 when Sweder hit Pizzerelli for an 11-yard score, followed by an Allard conversion.

Sweder had only the one completion, but he also ran five times for 71 yards.

Krouner closed out the scoring in the third quarter with a 30-yard scamper, taking the ball in on the first play after Valley Tech recovered a Dean Tech fumble. Allard added his second conversion.

“It’s just amazing,” Allard said of winning the Super Bowl. “I don’t want it to end.”

And it may not have to for some time. It was Valley Tech’s first visit to this stage, but now that they feel at home in the Super Bowl, there’s no reason for them not to return.